Carried Out fron International Boxer Magazine 2000 English version by the autor When the new puppy owner and the experienced SchH trainer come to
educating (or training) Boxers, in most cases, they have at least one basic
conviction in common: the boxer must obey the owner and he ( the dog ) is to be
"punished" ( one way or another) if otherwise, in order to behave as
the owner desires. The clicker is a very simple toy children used to play with not such a
long time ago. It fits easily into your hand and makes a distinct click sound,
when the small metal blade is pushed. The first
step in clickertraining -and this can be achieved within minutes- is to
transform this toy, the clicker, into a functional communication device: a
conditioned reinforcer, by combining it with very small pieces of food. Each
click ( at first given randomly - without relation to the boxers behaviour) is
followed by a very small piece of food : at first directly after , later on
with different intervals . The moment your boxer starts trying to trigger the
click sound, you know the connection has been established: click means food
means attention means reward. From that point on, the clicker begins to live a
live (a meaning) of its own: your boxer will be paying attention to the clicker
sound ( and , of course : to you) The sound itself has become a conditioned
reinforcer. Not only will your boxer pay attention to the sound, he will be
actively searching for it, displaying the vast richness of his behaviorial
repertoire. And now is the time to relate the clicker sound to his behaviour. In traditional training
we start from the idea that any exercise (for instance:sit) should be seen as a
kind of ideal image, and that any "deviation" from that image should
be "corrected". A psychologist might call this "conditioned
aversive control". In this setting the Boxer is constantly looking for
ways to avoid the "correction" (we, humans, do the same). He is
learning by avoiding. And most dogs are rather good in this. After all, the
avoidance of danger and unease has survival-value. But his attitude will become
defensive. And this you will notice in the way he is "working", In clickertraining we
start from the exact opposite idea.We start from tiny bits of
"desired" behaviour and reinforce them (by way of clicking-positive
reinforcement). Once those particles of behaviour become stabil we start combining
them (very slowly) until they form one "act", one unit of behaviour. Only
when this global "act" in turn stabilises, a word (command) is
associated to it. From that point on, only the combination word-act is
positively reinforced - no longer the act by itself. Most people find it hard
to believe that almost any kind of behaviour an animal (including your Boxer)
is physically capable of, can be "shaped" in the way you want it, by
means of positive reinforcement. It is true that this method involves a sharp
psychological turn on behalf of the trainer: he now is involved in a
communication-game with a clear and unambiguous language (clicker-sound means
ok), with strict rules and in this respect, and only in this respect, the
trainer stands on equal terms with his boxer. In this game there is no place -
and no need- for punishment of whatever kind, not even for physical force. As
it is the specific behaviour you "click", that will be
"conditioned", it involves constant concentration and constant (re) -
thinking of the goal you want to reach with your boxer, in that particular
session. The shaping of behaviour by way of positive
reinforcement is radically different from traditional training. The communication between the
trainer and the boxer is the crucial point, and the language used is
transparent to both sides. It is gratifying to both partners because each
session is a win-win situation. The clicker is instrumental, as a conditioned
reinforcer and is that powerful because of its accuracy, is transparency and
its capacity of being used in virtually any situation, and -very important- on
distance. You do not need a direct physical contact with your boxer to
reinforce his behaviour. Furthermore: there are a number of different
techniques in clickertraining to eliminate problematic behaviour - again
without any physical force or even a scream . One such technique is the shaping
of a non-compatible behaviour, another is the application of
"time-out" procedures. The theoretical basis of this method -certainly when
compared to its historical opponent, psychoanalysis - is almost disappointingly
small, but is solid. A side effect, is the redundancy of all speculation about
"instincts", "drives", "motives" and their
untracable complex interactions in what is usually called "character
formation". Highly experienced trainers and working-people tend to dislike
this part of the story. But it is the inner essence and strength of this theory
that it does not make any assumption at all concerning the "inside"
of your boxer: it only works with behaviour and positive reinforcement of parts
of that behaviour in order to shape a different (and desired) behaviour. When training dolphins, Karen Pryor realised she could not fysically
control them: it simply was not possible to fysically punish or reward them. So,
she and her collegueas worked out , in the course of many yaers , this method,
by applying Skinner's principle. I for one feel very grateful towards this lady
for having had the idea , the motivation and the energy to apply her method
onto dogs. Our boxers should have the opportunity to profit from her
experience. .
di Johan Sioen - tradotto in italiano da Piero Piazza 
Clicker training offers a different approach. It is a method of learning
by way of operant conditioning, the principle of which was established , in
experimental settings, by Skinner and his fellow ‘neo-behaviourists" some
seventy years ago. There is absolutely nothing mysterious about it. Each
animal, and our boxer is no exception, learns by the way his environment reacts
on his actions. There is a continuous communication between the animal and his
environment. If that environment (in an educatial setting this
"environment" means, in the first place: you) responds positively,
for instance by supplying food, the action ( behaviour) that triggered the
response will be repeated. A psychologist would say: the behaviour is
positively reinforced. Food is a (primary) reinforcer, as is your praise or
caress or even your attention.
or "behaving" in general. All the more so, because, again in general,
the other natural way of learning -by imitating other dogs -, is no longer open
to him.
For instance: exercising a correct, no-touch jump. The sound has to
come, not when the boxer starts to jump (and certainly not when you think he
will start jumping), not on landing either (although later on you can correct
the landingphase with the clicker), but in the actual flight phase itself. Because
of the concentration demanded on behalf of the dog and on behalf of the trainer
clickersessions are frequent but short.
The result - be it your petboxer or your SchH-boxer - is a happy boxer,
eager to work (learn). This method has results from session number 1 and you do
not need to possess a degree in anything - but you need patience, alertness and
the will to think. As communication is unavoidable (the first maxim of the
Bateson Theory: "it is impossible not to communicate"), you
better communicate clear and consequent, in a way that makes both of you happy.
Clickertraining has no other end.
It has no
pretention at all and no ambition whatsoever to tell you something about the
" inner structure ", the character of your boxer . This speculation -
no matter how exciting - is left to others or to you , if you feel the need. In
the end effect this simple technique will show you a happy working boxer. Not a
dominated, aggressively stimulated and controlled dog. 
Johan Sioen